Sep 08

10

According to the latest figures released the number of tourists who visited in the Canaries during the first half of this year was up almost five per cent compared to the same period last year.

From the 26.6 million visitors to Spain, 4.7 million came to the Canaries, putting our region in second place behind Catalonia in the league table. The Canary Islands attracted 600,000 more tourists than our rival the Balearics, where the number of visiting tourists was up by just 2.3 per cent.

Jun 08

27

The Canarian government has warned the public to expect sweltering heat in many parts of the islands today. The Canaries will feel the effects of a heat wave which affected many parts of southern Spain yesterday, with temperatures reaching 42ºC.

The heat is not expected to be as bad in the islands (34ºC maximum) but the combination of warm air and humidity as of mid-morning could make life uncomfortable in the capitals. Most of the islands have mobilised fire teams to deal with potential blazes in woodland and forests. The heat will last throughout the week-end, according to the Met Office.

Jun 08

23

Tonight is St John’s Night, and the skies throughout Tenerife will be lit up in celebration with the annual bonfires.

It is expected that tens of thousands of people will light hundreds of fires across the Canaries, mainly on the beaches.

The Fire Brigade is on standby ready for its busiest night of the year to attending fires which go out of control and spread to nearby scrub land, although the cooler weather conditions today in several parts may help to reduce the problem.

Mar 08

12

According to the Met Office coastal parts of the Canaries can expect some of the bad weather that has battered other parts of Spain this week.

As the tail end of the ferocious storm that has already caused millions of euros damage to seafronts in the Basque Country and Cantabria moves away from the mainland, forecasters predict it could affect the coasts of almost all the Canary Islands, except El Hierro.

The merchant ship ‘Maro’ with 54 tons of fuel on board has been lying aground off the coast of Guipúzcoa, Northern Spain since last Thursday night. The Coastguard originally planned to start the operation to transfer the fuel on Sunday, but were forced to postpone the attempt due to the bad weather. Also reported was a car which was lifted off the ground by a giant wave and tossed through the plate-glass front of a hotel restaurant.

The regional government is urging people in the Canaries to take extra caution when near the seafront and in exposed places.